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Fantastic Mertesacker – The Best And The Worst Rated Arsenal Players In The FA Cup Final Against Chelsea

Arsenal

Full Time: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

Arsene Wenger may have just bought himself a lifeline at the Emirates as he was able to get past a Chelsea side that was still fresh from the title jubilation. Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 4th minute and managed to dominate the game for long periods as they managed to put pressure on Chelsea throughout the game.

The odds were stacked against Chelsea as Victor Moses saw a second yellow for a stupid, blatant dive, and though Diego Costa came up with an equalizer for 10-men Chelsea, Giroud produced a brilliant ball as Aaron Ramsey was there in the box to head home just minutes later, giving the Gunners the FA Cup title yet again. The scoreline simply does not reflect the kind of performance Arsenal put in. It was total domination from minute one and they Gunners should have score 4 or 5 goals to be honest.

Arsenal Player Ratings

David Ospina (7)

Should have done better to stop the goal from Costa but made a number of saves to keep his side in the hunt.

Rob Holding (7)

Absolutely man-handled Diego Costa as the Spaniard lost his composure, which was abundant in Rob Holding on the other hand. He looked so mature for his age.

Per Mertesacker (9)

What a way to make your first start of the season. The captain stepped up at the right time and held the defence together in the absence of star man Laurent Koscielny. Brilliant stuff from the German! Man of the match.

Nacho Monreal (6)

Stuck to his task well at the back against the likes of Pedro and Willian late in the game and made some last ditch tackles to keep his side ahead.

Hector Bellerin (7)

His pace was a constant threat for the Blues as he almost found the back of the net on a couple of occasions on the counter. Almost sent David Luiz into retirement with one of his moves that he failed to convert into a goal.

Aaron Ramsey scored the winner for Arsenal
Aaron Ramsey scored Arsenal’s winner

Granit Xhaka (6)

Did a decent job in the midfield for Arsenal and did well to shield his backline and absorb all the pressure Chelsea threw at the Gunners.

Aaron Ramsey (8)

One of the best players on the pitch, Ramsey was all over Chelsea, running the game with ease and scoring the winner in yet another FA Cup win for Arsenal.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6)

Started in an unfamiliar left wing-back role but did justice to his position as he was alert at both ends of the field. However, he did not have the usual impact that he’d have had on the right flank.

Mesut Ozil (8)

Totally dominated the Chelsea defence, especially after the Blues went a man down. He simply tortured the Chelsea defenders with his class and was a joy to watch him.

Alexis Sanchez (8)

Alexis was at his usual best, dribbling and turning and twisting trying to get his side a goal. He is certainly a big game player and it showed on Saturday too.

Danny Welbeck (6)

Danny Welbeck was clearly below Alexis and Ozil’s standard and was the main reason why Arsenal did not score more than 2 goals despite a dominating performance. The fact that his best performance of the season did not support his teammates enough shows his standard. Arsenal need a big name striker in the summer alongside Giroud.

Subs

Olivier Giroud (7)

Came in with just over 10 minutes to go but managed to pick up the assist for Ramsey’s goal that won Arsenal the tie. Another big match player.

Francis Coquelin (6)

Came in late in the game to see off a 2-1 lead. Did his job decently well.

Mohamed Elneny (N/A)

Got a few minutes under his belt in a winning cause. Could have scored in the final moments but it didn’t matter as the game was already done by then.